Meta

Kevin is a baseball player. He loves baseball, loves his team, and it is a huge part of his life. So when a case of mono results in a baseball ban for a few weeks he isn’t sure what to do. His father, a writer, gives him a collection of poems and Kevin uses it as a mentor text as he tries his hand at poetry. At first, it’s just a way to stay busy when he is bedridden, but then he begins to enjoy it. Kevin writes about the recent death of his mother, his love of baseball, and his thoughts about girls.

I really enjoyed this book. Verse novels are a big hit with my students this year but it seems that a lot of verse novels are more girl-friendly than boy-friendly. Many of my boys search out quick reads, especially those related to sports. Shakespeare Bats Cleanup looks like it is perfect for those boys.

3 Responses

I love verse novels, too, and this one was fun. I love the male main character and how he doesn’t like poetry at the beginning of the book but comes around to it. “Love That Dog” by Sharon Creech is another one with a male voice and written in verse that you could recommend to boys. :)